Remote Ischemic Conditioning in Patients With Myocardial Infarction Treated With Primary Angioplasty: Impact on Left Ventricular Function Assessed by Comprehensive Echocardiography and Gated Single-Photon Emission CT.

Background: we have found that remote ischemic conditioning (rIC), adjunctive to primary angioplasty, increases myocardial salvage in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and extensive myocardial area at risk (AAR). The present substudy aimed to evaluate the short-term effects of rIC on left ventricular (LV) function.

Methods And Results: patients with a first STEMI were randomized to rIC (4 cycles of 5 minutes upper-limb ischemia) during transfer to primary percutaneous coronary intervention (pPCI) (n=123) versus pPCI alone (n=119).

Recipients potentially infected with parvovirus B19 by red blood cell products.

Background: Since 2000, blood donor screening for parvovirus B19 (B19) by nucleic acid testing (NAT) at the Ulm Institute has been conducted 6 to 8 weeks postdonation, that is, after transfusion of cellular blood products, whereas at the Frankfurt Institute all donations are screened before releasing any blood product. In this study, we evaluated the infectivity of B19-positive blood products in relation to the virus concentration in the transfused blood component.

Study Design And Methods: Recipients were classified into two groups (A, transfused with blood products with B19 virus load less than 10(5) IU/mL; and B, transfused with blood products with B19 virus load greater than 10(5) IU/mL).

Intracortical EEG for the detection of vasospasm in patients with poor-grade subarachnoid hemorrhage.

Background: To study the feasibility of utilizing intracortical electroencephalography (ICE) including quantitative EEG (qEEG) analysis for the detection of vasospasm in five consecutive poor-grade SAH patients.

Methods: Intracortical electroencephalography (ICE) was obtained via a single miniature parenchymal 8-contact depth electrode placed at the bedside. Quantitative EEG parameters, calculated on surface EEG and ICE, included alpha/delta ratio (ADR), mean amplitude, suppression percent, and total power.

Distinct reactivities of interleukin-4-specific antibodies with recombinant and native canine interleukin-4 in various assays.

Interleukin 4 (IL-4) plays a central role in immune responses to parasites and allergens. IL-4 drives the differentiation of naive T cells into Th2 cells and regulates immunoglobulin class switching to IgE.Little is known about the role of IL-4 in canine allergies and parasite infections.

Fabrication and characterization of linear diffusers based on concave micro lens arrays.

We present a new approach of beam homogenizing elements based on a statistical array of concave cylindrical microlens arrays. Those elements are used to diffuse light in only one direction and can be employed together with fly's eye condensers to generate a uniform flat top line for high power coherent light sources. Conception, fabrication and characterization for such 1D diffusers are presented in this paper.

Multidrug donor preconditioning prevents cold liver preservation and reperfusion injury.

Purpose: Primary graft dysfunction still represents a major challenge in liver transplantation. We herein studied in an isolated rat liver perfusion model whether a multidrug donor preconditioning (MDDP) can not only reduce but also completely prevent cold ischemia-reperfusion injury.

Methods: MDDP included curcumin, simvastatin, N-acetylcysteine, erythropoietin, pentoxyphylline, melatonin, glycine, and methylprednisolone.

Long-term outcome of mitomycin C- and 5-FU-based primary radiochemotherapy for esophageal cancer.

Background And Purpose: For definitive radiochemotherapy, 5-fluorouracil/cisplatin protocols have been considered the standard of care for esophageal carcinoma over the last 2 decades. By contrast, most patients treated at the University Hospital, LMU Munich, Germany, received 5-fluorouracil/mitomycin C. The objective of this retrospective analysis was to determine the value of 5-fluorouracil/mitomycin-C-based therapy.

Reliability and validity of the global physical activity questionnaire in Vietnam.

Background: The Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ) was developed as an improvement of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) for use in cross-cultural settings. This study compared the reliability and validity of GPAQ and IPAQ in Vietnam.

Methods: 251 adults were randomly selected from a population-based survey (n = 1978) of noncommunicable disease risk factors.

Electronic structure analysis of the ground-state potential energy curve of Be(2).

The recently measured ground-state potential energy curve of the diatomic beryllium molecule is reproduced to within an accuracy of 20 cm(-1) by a full valence configuration interaction calculation based on augmented correlation-consistent double-, triple-, and quadruple-zeta basis sets, followed by a two-tier extrapolation to the complete basis set limit and complemented by a configuration interaction estimate of the core and core-valence correlations. The origin of binding in Be(2) as well as the unusual shape of its potential energy curve is elucidated by an in-depth analysis of the contributions of the various components of this wave function to the bonding process. Beyond the bonding region, the 6/8 London dispersion interaction is recovered.

Epidermal growth factor receptor is a co-receptor for adeno-associated virus serotype 6.

A key step in gene therapy is the efficient transfer of genes in a cell type- and tissue-specific manner. To better understand the mechanism of adeno-associated virus serotype 6 (AAV6) transduction, we used comparative gene analysis (CGA) combined with pathway visualization software to identify a positive correlation between AAV6 transduction and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) expression. Subsequent experiments suggested that EGFR is necessary for vector internalization and probably functions as a co-receptor for AAV6.

On the ordering of orbital energies in high-spin ROHF.

The restricted open-shell Hartree-Fock (ROHF) method is a standard tool used by quantum chemists for studying molecules with unpaired electrons. In this work a problem with some implementations of the ROHF method is presented along with an elegant solution. The ground state (2)A(2) potential energy surface of the 5,5'-(4H, 4H')-spirobi[cyclopenta[c]pyrrole]-2,2'6,6'-tetrahydro cation is the molecular test case, which elucidates the underlying problem.

Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy for optical soft tissue differentiation as remote feedback control for tissue-specific laser surgery.

Background And Objective: Laser surgery does not provide haptic feedback for operating layer-by-layer and thereby preserving vulnerable anatomical structures like nerve tissue or blood vessels. Diffuse reflectance spectra can facilitate remote optical tissue differentiation. It is the aim of the study to use this technique on soft tissue samples, to set a technological basis for a remote optical feedback system for tissue-specific laser surgery.

Murine Kupffer cells are protective in total hepatic ischemia/reperfusion injury with bowel congestion through IL-10.

Kupffer cells (KCs) are thought to mediate hepatocyte injury via their production of proinflammatory cytokines and reactive oxygen species in response to stress. In this study, we depleted KCs from the liver to examine their role in total warm hepatic ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury with bowel congestion. We injected 8-wk-old C57BL/10J mice with liposome-encapsulated clodronate 48 h before 35 min of hepatic ischemia with bowel congestion, followed by 6 or 24 h of reperfusion.

Cerebrovascular carbon dioxide reactivity and delayed cerebral ischemia after subarachnoid hemorrhage.

Objective: To determine the predictors of impaired cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR) and the value of CVR in predicting delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI) after subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH).

Design: Prospective observational study. We evaluated CVR during the following intervals: period 1, SAH days 0 to 3; period 2, SAH days 4 to 7; and period 3, SAH days 8 to 10.

Anemia is associated with metabolic distress and brain tissue hypoxia after subarachnoid hemorrhage.

Background: Anemia is frequently encountered in critically ill patients and adversely affects cerebral oxygen delivery and brain tissue oxygen (PbtO2). The objective of this study is to assess whether there is an association between anemia and metabolic distress or brain tissue hypoxia in patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage.

Methods: Retrospective study was conducted in a neurological intensive care unit in a university hospital.

Preparation of an acid butanol standard from fresh apples.

We have developed a simple method for preparing and verifying suitable standards for the acid butanol assay from a readily available source. Phenolics were extracted from fresh apples with methanol, and sugars were removed from the crude extract by treatment with Amberlite resin before fractionating the proanthocyanidins into ethyl acetate. The ethyl acetate fraction was chromatographed on Toyopearl TSK HW-50F to yield about 50 mg of procyanidin dimer and 35 mg of trimer from 1 kg fresh apple fruit.

Predictors of long-term shunt-dependent hydrocephalus after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage. Clinical article.

Object: The purpose of this study was to identify predictors of shunt-dependent hydrocephalus after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH).

Methods: The authors evaluated the incidence of shunt-dependent hydrocephalus in a consecutive cohort of 580 patients with SAH who were admitted to the Neurological Intensive Care Unit of Columbia University Medical Center between July 1996 and September 2002. Patient demographics, 24-hour admission variables, initial CT scan characteristics, daily transcranial Doppler variables, and development of in-hospital complications were analyzed.

Structural-mechanical characterization of nanoparticle exosomes in human saliva, using correlative AFM, FESEM, and force spectroscopy.

All living systems contain naturally occurring nanoparticles with unique structural, biochemical, and mechanical characteristics. Specifically, human saliva exosomes secreted by normal cells into saliva via exocytosis are novel biomarkers showing tumor-antigen enrichment during oral cancer. Here we show the substructure of single human saliva exosomes, using a new ultrasensitive low force atomic force microscopy (AFM) exhibiting substructural organization unresolvable in electron microscopy.

Impact of induced normothermia on outcome after subarachnoid hemorrhage: a case-control study.

Objective: Fever during the first week after subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is associated with poor outcome; however, eliminating fever has not been shown to improve outcome. We sought to explore the potential impact of induced normothermia using advanced fever control (AFC) methods on outcome after SAH.

Methods: We identified 40 consecutive febrile patients enrolled in the Columbia University SAH Outcomes Project between 2003 and 2005 who underwent AFC (37 degrees C) with a surface cooling device during the first 14 days after SAH and randomly matched by age, Hunt and Hess grade, and SAH sum score to 80 SAH patients who underwent conventional fever control between 1996 and 2004.

Remote ischaemic conditioning before hospital admission, as a complement to angioplasty, and effect on myocardial salvage in patients with acute myocardial infarction: a randomised trial.

Background: Remote ischaemic preconditioning attenuates cardiac injury at elective surgery and angioplasty. We tested the hypothesis that remote ischaemic conditioning during evolving ST-elevation myocardial infarction, and done before primary percutaneous coronary intervention, increases myocardial salvage.

Methods: 333 consecutive adult patients with a suspected first acute myocardial infarction were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio by computerised block randomisation to receive primary percutaneous coronary intervention with (n=166 patients) versus without (n=167) remote conditioning (intermittent arm ischaemia through four cycles of 5-min inflation and 5-min deflation of a blood-pressure cuff).

Co-expression of insulin-like growth factor-1 and interleukin-4 in an in vitro inflammatory model.

The ailment osteoarthritis (OA) has two aspects - inflammation and cartilage degradation - where combined transgene expression may offer an effective gene therapy. Our present study focuses on the co-expression of interleukin-4 (IL-4) and insulin-like-growth factor-1 (IGF-1), which specifically target inflammation and cartilage repair, respectively. In this study, we analyze the expression of IGF-1 and IL-4 from a single plasmid vector, where each gene is expressed through an independent promoter and enhancer sequence.

Agency and communication challenges in discussions of informed consent in pediatric cancer research.

In this article we examine the discourse of four focus groups we conducted at a pediatric research hospital in which we queried teenage patients, parents, nurses, and physicians about their perceptions of the informed consent process in research. Autonomy, as the goal of informed consent, is a murky concept, with some ethicists questioning the possibility that it can ever be attained. We argue that it might be more productive to consider agency, which we define as language and action that are constructed, negotiated, and maintained through effective communication.

Systemic glucose and brain energy metabolism after subarachnoid hemorrhage.

Background: Brain energy metabolic crisis (MC) and lactate-pyruvate ratio (LPR) elevations have been linked to poor outcome in comatose patients. We sought to determine if MC and LPR elevations after subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) are associated with acute reductions in serum glucose.

Methods: Twenty-eight consecutive comatose SAH patients that underwent multimodality monitoring with intracranial pressure and microdialysis were studied.